


mirror, mirror

by Navyrants



Category: Ever After High
Genre: Gen, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-23 06:08:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8316721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Navyrants/pseuds/Navyrants
Summary: Apple has come a long way since she started at Ever After High, and the gap between herself and her mother only grows wider.





	

You are not your mother.

At one point these words were pain, a sharp reminder that you had a long way to go to reach your destiny. It came mostly from the mouths of your tutors in all things princessy as your mind drifted off during lessons, but it was always followed by a stern, promising _yet._  You are not Snow White yet, but you will be someday.

Then you met Raven and slowly came to understand her deep fear of becoming her mother. At first you thought she was being stubborn, selfish, robbing you and everyone of their promised destinies. But not everyone had a happy ending, did they? So many of your classmates, you realized, had been raised with the knowledge that they were destined to commit horrible deeds and die, or be imprisoned for life. All for someone else’s happy ending—someone like you.

And didn’t they deserve better?

You understand this now, as you work with Raven to unwind the toxic, tangled knot of ideologies your world is built upon. You’re grateful to her for showing you, but confronting your own mother’s actions and their effects on you—it’s overwhelming.

_‘Manipulation,’_ Raven gently, firmly tells you.  _‘Borderline abuse. She’s trying to control you.’_

And you know she’s right; the way you were raised to be a Snow White carbon copy was damaging, cruel. It was wrong. But you can’t stop loving her, and it’s hard not to seek her approval. You think Raven feels the same way, and the knowledge has given you a strong determination to never be like your mother.

It becomes a mantra you repeat to yourself. You are not your mother. You are honest, and open. You believe that everyone deserves a chance to fly, even when she would clip their wings to keep things the way they have always been.

You are kind—genuinely, not for appearances.

You are studious. You are resourceful. You make mistakes and accept them; you are learning how to be wrong. You snore a little, and sometimes you laugh far too loudly in public.

You list these traits in your head, good and bad. Every way you are not like your mother. It’s a comfort, and an important reminder. You are _not_ your mother.

Even if that little voice in the back of your head still cruelly whispers _yet._


End file.
